Gracious God, just as Jesus put his trust in you, help
us to look to you for help. Amen.
“In
God we trust.” You can find that phrase on license plates, government
buildings, police cars, and printed US currency. If you want to hear my
thoughts about what that phrase is doing on our money, we can get a cup of
coffee or a pint sometime to discuss it, but that’s not the point of this
sermon. Instead, I have an even more basic question for us to ponder: what does
it mean to trust God?
Help us to tell the truth about ourselves, that in
doing so, we might find ourselves to be grounded in your love, O God. Amen.
I realize that this might sound a bit strange, but I love the doctrine of Sin. That doesn’t mean that’s the only teaching of the Church that I find attractive and helpful; I’m also a big fan of Grace and salvation, but I also really appreciate the Christian understanding of Sin. A lot of people, especially in The Episcopal Church, have an aversion to the doctrine of Sin. They would say that it’s just so negative, oppressive, and condescending. But not me, I love the doctrine of Sin.
Sometimes a glimpse is all you need. A lot of us keep photos of family around to remind us of who we love and who loves us. Soldiers and police officers often have a picture of their family tucked into a pocket, or we have a picture of our spouse, children, or grandchildren as the wallpaper on our phones. And when we catch a glimpse of that photo, it becomes something like our north star, our reminder of why it is we’re off to work at a job we don’t particularly want to be at, or makes us excited for when we’ll get to see them again.
Help us, O Lord, to speak and live in ways that
draw people toward your love. Amen.
What is inside of you that God is summoning forth? That’s a question that came up recently in a conversation. Someone was asking me if I’ve ever considered writing a book. And I say, yes, I’ve considered it. But I just don’t have it in me. I’ve heard many authors say before that what allows them to write a book is that the book is inside them and they couldn’t hold it in if they tried. Sure, anyone can write a bad book. But to write something that really connects and resonates, that can’t come from within us, it has to be something that the Spirit gives to us and then, like an embryo, gestates within us until we can’t hold it in any longer and it bursts out into the world.
